As reported by the Asbury Park Press, Thorne Middle School in Middletown, New Jersey informed Rachel’s mom, Angela Peters, that she must come back to school prepared to dress like and act like a boy as well as use the name on her birth certificate. No accommodations would be made for her gender identity; Peters suggested letting Rachel use the bathroom in the nurse’s office, but the school rejected that idea.

Peters believes sending Rachel to a new private school that is accepting would be the ideal solution, but Middletown School District is also not willing to ...

Marichuy Leal Gamino, 23, has been detained at the for-profit ICE center in Eloy, Arizona for over a year. A trans woman forced into a men’s facility, she has faced sexual harassment and threats from men. Despite her efforts to report these threats to the facility guards, she has no received protection and was recently raped by her cellmate.

After reporting her assault, Marichuy was pressured into signing a document saying that the assault was “consensual.” After reaching out to external organizing groups like the Transgender Law Center, Arcoíris Liberation Team, and the Puente Movement, she was involuntarily placed into solitary confinement.

#FreeMarichuy has assembled a coalition of over 70 LGBTQ and immigration rights activists to, ...

Marichuy Leal Gamino, 23, has been detained at the for-profit ICE center in Eloy, Arizona for over a year. A trans woman forced into a men’s facility, she has faced sexual harassment and threats from men. Despite ...

When Jared Leto won a Golden Globe and then an Oscar for playing a (caricature of a) transgender woman in Dallas Buyers Club, I witnessed so much cis mansplaining about how Leto’s performance and award show appearances were good for trans women, because we needed visibility. Lots of folks don’t know about trans people, they argued, and Leto was educating them – plus his performance wasn’t that bad, it was accurate to how trans women were (seen by these cis men) at that time. When Laverne Cox made the cover of TIME, Andrew Sullivan responded by arguing that trans people should be willing to talk about our genitals when asked because people ...

Looking back at the end of Pride month 2014, we’ve seen some incredible advances in transgender rights. With increasing anti-discrimination protections and expansion of basic healthcare rights to trans people, a lot of my own federal policy agenda for trans folks is getting met.

At the same time, four trans women of color were murdered this June. The epidemic of violence targeting trans women of color, playing out while LGBT folks should supposedly be celebrating our pride, should stop us all cold, and make us think seriously about what’s really needed to win liberation for all trans people.

Looking back at the end of Pride month 2014, we’ve seen some incredible advances in transgender rights. With increasing anti-discrimination protections and expansion of basic healthcare rights to trans people, a lot of my own federal policy ...

In case you needed some clarification, transgender discrimination is illegal. According to the Department of Labor, it is considered discrimination based on sex and violates Title VII. The Dept. of Labor is the latest federal agency to clarify their policy on anti-trans discrimination:

“Labor Secretary Tom Perez said, ‘These changes reflect current law. In Macy v. Holder, for example, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission concluded that discrimination because a person is transgender is sex discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and Civil Rights Center, along with the Employment and Training Administration, will issue guidance to make clear that discrimination on the basis of transgender status is ...

In case you needed some clarification, transgender discrimination is illegal. According to the Department of Labor, it is considered discrimination based on sex and violates Title VII. The Dept. of Labor is the latest federal agency to